For true wrestling fans, tonight is a big night on Raw. The Cruiserweight Classic has been going on for the last few weeks on the WWE Network. The cruiserweight division is now returning to Raw tonight. I am not going to focus on any specific individuals. This is just some general thoughts.
I have seen some people wonder if the new cruiserweights will get to work outside the division with the other guys. I think it is obvious that will happen. It happened years ago when the Cruiserweight Championship was around. Rey Mysterio had some big matches with some big guys. The WWE won't have these new guys just wrestle each other in some kind of box. They will branch out. You likely won't see that right away, but it will gradually happen for the new guys debuting for the cruiserweight division.
Something I don't see anyone else bringing up, who will lose their time so that the cruiserweight division can shine? Raw has been going for a few weeks now since the new brand split. They have managed to do okay. There have been some lower-midcarders getting angles, like Jinder Mahal, Darren Young, and Titus O'Neil. I can definitely imagine them losing their spots. The women have also gotten two angles going many nights in the last few weeks. One would revolve around the title, while the other revolved around Nia Jax. Nia Jax squashing people will not last forever. Question is, once her push is over, will the WWE continue to maintain to separate women's feuds? Or will that time go to the cruiserweights? The simple answer might just be to cut down on the long matches and segments. Five minutes here and five minutes there could add up to the cruiserweights' segment time. I would expect the division to get 15 to 30 minutes every Raw. That is just respectable time.
Should Smackdown get something to counter the new division, including the new title and new workers? I am a believer that the two shows should feature unique things and possibly even unique philosophies. Smackdown should have something. Some people are loving Talking Smack, but something during the actual show would be nice. To simply make a cruiserweight title for Smackdown is not the answer. That would not be anything unique. How about a hardcore title? It might not be as fun as the original title, but it would be something unique for Smackdown. I could also suggest tag titles for the women, but the WWE doesn't have the depth to make that really worth it. They could hire more women to make it work, but the WWE really has to keep an eye on their budget. Besides, Smackdown is only two hours. It would be nice to create something for the workers already there.
Onto ratings. Will the cruiserweights draw for Raw? No. First, they are not really bringing in any big names. Even if they did bring in cruiserweight royalty, like Rey Mysterio, I would not be sure it would draw. Second, what the WWE and supporters of the new division might hope is that the exciting style these guys wrestle would draw. Thing is, there have been cruiserweights in the WWE all these years even without a title for them to exclusively fight for. Guys like Seth Rollins and AJ Styles wrestle that exciting style. Has it been drawing? No. The WWE is feeding wrestling fans, but they need to do more than that to draw the wider audience.
The WWE needs to spend time to actually develop the characters of these cruiserweights. I have said the same thing about the women these days. Everything cannot just revolve around some kind of revolution. With these cruiserweights, it cannot just revolve around them being exciting wrestlers. Build their gimmicks, as well. I remember when Neville made his Raw return from injury a few months ago. He did not really get a great reaction at all. He is an exciting in-ring performer that will fit well in the new division, but a lot of fans just do not care that much about him. He had been around for about a year. Fans got the opportunity to get to know him on the main roster. And yet, not that over. How well will these new guys work out? They better do a better job showing character than Neville has on the main roster.
I don't want to make it sound like I hate cruiserweights. Back when I first started watching wrestling regularly, I liked Juventud and Kidman in WCW. They had some nice spots and I just liked them as performers. The WWE's lightheavyweight/cruiserweight division never did anything for me. It just felt like more of a division in WCW. Even when they started to have some fluke title reigns, including certain women getting the title, it just felt better than what the WWE was doing at the same time. I'll have an open mind and see if any of the new guys catch my eye.
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